


Sawamura's Petshop

by moooonpies



Series: Sawamura's Petshop [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Azumane Asahi is helpless, Boys In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, M/M, Mentioned Nishinoya Yuu, Mentioned Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Sugawara Koushi, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Third Person, Petshop AU, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, aoasa - Freeform, suga uses they/them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29929392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moooonpies/pseuds/moooonpies
Summary: Asahi gets hired at the Sawamura Petshop. He meets a certain white-haired boy that works with the snakes and turtles. Just a soft petshop au :)
Relationships: Aone Takanobu/Azumane Asahi, Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi, Oikawa Tooru/Sugawara Koushi
Series: Sawamura's Petshop [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201145
Comments: 14
Kudos: 25





	Sawamura's Petshop

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I know a lot of you are here from tiktok... and that makes me nervous lol. A lot of this was written right before I went to bed, sorry.  
> Unedited.  
> (Also, ignore how awkward they are for some parts! I feel like the two of them could be very awkward at points lol)

Asahi adjusted his bag as he jogged down the street. He was late. How could he be late on his first day? He groaned to himself and rounded the corner. He slowed down to a speed walk and opened the door to the pet shop, “Good morning, I’m sorry I’m late,” He said, taking his shoes off.

“Are you Azumane?” A man said with chocolate-colored hair.  
“Yes,” Asahi panted and slipped into the new pair of shoes, “I apologize for my tardiness,”

“Don’t mind. You don’t have to be so formal. My name is Sawamura Daichi, you can call me Daichi. This is my father’s shop that I’m in charge of. Sugawara is the one who interviewed you, so they’ll be showing you around. They use they/them pronouns, by the way,” Daichi said and placed the box down in front of the front counter, “I’ll get Suga for ya’,” 

Asahi watched as Daichi ducked back into the shop, returning seconds later with Suga, “Hey,” Suga smiled, “I hope you like dogs because that’s where you’ll mainly be working,” They said and led Asahi through the shop, waving at Daichi.

“These are the birds, Kageyama and Hinata work in this unit,” They said, gesturing to the two boys and the aisle of well-kept birdcages, a large African gray parrot displayed in the middle, “Also don’t worry about remembering names, we can go over that later,” Suga said and walked over to the next few aisles.

“This is Oikawa, he works with the fish. That whole wall is all he’s doing,” Suga said. Asahi nodded, watching as Oikawa stood on a ladder, rearranging a higher tank’s display. Asahi took in the healthy looks of the tanks, noting their bright colors, multiple little themes to catch the eye of children and many young at heart. What really caught his eyes was a school of fish that varied in different shades of neon yellow, orange, blue, pink, and green. Their fins and bodies glew under the blacklight so vividly.

After allowing a bit for Asahi to take in the new area, Suga began to walk, “These are the cats,” They said and smiled at the cats in the clear plastic. The cats walked up to the wall, probably looking for some head pats, “Kuroo and Kozume work back here, right now they’re helping a kitten that was found earlier,”

“Oh… I hope they’re okay,” Asahi said, frowning, thinking of the poor kitten.

“They should be,” Suga reassured, “Kuroo and Kenma are excellent with the cats,” Asahi nodded, relieved.

“Here are the rodents,” Suga said, and waved at a guy in a yellow shirt with soft brown hair, “That’s Komori, he works with the ferrets and guinea pigs and small animals like that,” 

Komori placed a hamster back into the cage and walked over, “Hi!” He chirped, “Nice to meet you, your name is… Azumane? Right?”

Asahi nodded, “Yeah,” He looked at Komori then his shoes, “Uh… Nice to meet you,”

“You too dude! Welcome to the animal club,” He cheesed and turned back to the guinea pigs.

“His cousin, Sakusa, will be here later. Don’t hold anything personal if he recoils away. He’s not a fan of crowded places,” Suga said, waving their hand around, “Here are all the dogs! Right now we only have six,” They said and unlocked a door to the backroom, “In here you’ll be working with me. Sometimes Dai would help with grooming and everything, but I’ll go over all of that later after we finish our tour,”

Suga smiled up at Asahi and walked out of the office, down to the last few aisles, “This is the back room, which holds every little thing you’d need for the store and replacements,” They opened the door where a short boy was standing on bags of dog kibble whilst another boy laughed obnoxiously at him. Suga laughed, causing the two to turn their attention. 

“Dude you’re so tall! Just like Sakusa and Aone! How tall are you? You must be 6’3 at a MINIMUM!” The shorter one yelled.

“Leave him alone, Nishinoya,” Suga said, “Just an FYI, Daichi just added cameras back here,” They teased and lead Asahi out of the backroom walking to the back aisle, “Okay, this is the last one,”

Asahi nodded, adjusting his bag. “These are the reptiles and amphibians,” Suga walked into the aisle, “Are you scared of snakes or things like that?”

“Um… A bit… I don’t mind them as long as they’re in the cages,” Asahi said, following them down. Asahi spotted a turtle and smiled, “This one is so small,” He smiled as the turtle walked, sliding into the pool of water.

“That’s a painted turtle. He’s about 7 weeks old now,” A deep voice came from behind Asahi, causing him to jump.

“Oh, Aone! This is our new employee, Azumane,” Suga introduced.

Aone nodded and turned away from the pair, walking to handle and feed a boa.

“Don’t take his quietness to heart. He doesn’t talk a lot or share a lot of information, but I do know that he cares an awful lot about all the animals in that area,” Suga walked with Asahi back to the area with the dogs, “Well, welcome to Sawamaura’s, I think you’ll like working here and our little community family we have going on,” They smiled and sat down on a swivel chair, “So now, let’s see what you can do,”

Three months later, Asahi felt familiar with everything going on. The dogs loved him, some of the cats even liked to crawl into his lap when they allowed for the cats to roam around before the store opened or closed. Asahi got pretty close to Suga and Daichi in such a short period, learning more about the two. He learned Suga was dating Oikawa and Daichi was married to Kuroo. Daichi had a 4-year-old daughter that would come into the shop after she finished her short preschool days. 

Asahi learned that Kageyama and Hinata were in a relationship with two boys that worked at the library and the plant nursery and a girl that worked in a design studio. 

In his short period of time working with all these people, he learned so much, but one piece of information he felt was more important than the rest with that Aone Takanobu was single. Aone didn’t talk much, but he’d happily listen to Asahi talk about the dogs and answer any questions Asahi had about the turtles he loved to stop by. Aone often came by to pet one Shiba multiple times throughout his shift, making a brief conversation with Asahi about the turtles or asking about other dogs.

Today was going by, as usual, Asahi was changing the water dishes in all the cages, Suga was in the backroom, grooming a woman’s poodle. There was the normal buzz from the animals and employees. Birds cawed, the cats meowed, you could hear the loud filter from the fish tanks, creeks from the hamster’s wheels, and… a woman’s scream?

Asahi’s head snapped up and he closed the dog cage before jogging to wherever he heard the scream. Asahi rounded the corner to Aone’s aisle and looked at the woman on the floor and Aone a few steps back, a snake wrapped around his arm, moving to his neck. Daichi was right behind Asahi and walked around, “What happened?” He asked and looked at Aone’s widened eyes then to the woman on the floor.

“S...She-” Aone started but was cut off by the woman.

“He pushed me to the floor!” She screamed at Daichi.

“Ma’am please be honest. He wouldn’t push you for no reason. Aone, what happened?”

“She reached into the tank and tried to take pebbles out. I told her she couldn't do that and if she wanted to see a specific snake, I needed to handle them. She screamed then fell to the floor, trying to cause a scene, I think,” Aone’s voice was soft and had an unnatural uneasiness hidden in there.

“Hand me the snake, you can take your lunch now, Aone. Asahi, accompany him please,” Daichi said and held his arms out for the long kingsnake. Aone gently placed the snake into Daichi’s arms and turned around, walking away, Asahi the following suit. Asahi grabbed his bag and walked to the break room with Aone. 

Aone sat down on a chair and rested his head into his hands, his leg shaking slightly.

“Aone? Are you okay?” Asahi asked and looked at the taller man.

“I don’t know why she did that,” He whispered, “I just told her she couldn’t reach in and touch the snakes,” 

“I don't know why either,” Asahi sighed and thought about his next words, “But I know you wouldn’t push her, and Daichi does too. If she tries to make this a big deal then Daichi would get the footage from the cameras, and she’ll get in trouble. How about we don’t think about it too much, you did nothing wrong,” Asahi smiled softly at Aone and tapped the top of Aone’s lunch carrier, “Let’s eat?”

Aone lifted his head and nodded, “Okay…”

Asahi opened his bento box while Aone opened his, “What did you bring?” Asahi asked and looked up at him.

“Just a sandwich,” He said and showed his container.

“That’s it? You’ll still be hungry,” Asahi said, “Would you like some of these noodles? I made them last night,” He showed Aone the orange noodles with specks of green onions, mushrooms, and broccoli, “It’s spicy. I don't know if you like that or not,’

Aone nodded shyly, causing Asahi to smile. He used his chopsticks and got half of his noodles, placing it on the lid of Aone’s container, “Here, you can have two of these too,”

Aone watched as Asahi placed two extra small rice balls next to the noodles. He looked back up and ripped his sandwich in half, handing half to Asahi, “Here,”

“Oh! Thank you!” Asahi’s cheeks dusted red as he grabbed the sandwich.

“I made the bread myself, sorry if it tastes different from what you’re used to,” Aone said and eyed as Asahi pulled the cheese out of the sandwich.

“Thank you Aone,” Asahi smiled and took a bite from the sandwich.

“You don’t pray before you eat?” Aone asked and clasped his hands together.

“Uhh… No,” Asahi said after he swallowed, “I’m atheist,”

“Don’t be sorry,” Aone said quickly, “I’m sorry, that was rude to assume,” 

“Don’t even worry!” Asahi reassured, “It’s okay. Thank you for asking about it though,”

The pair ate in silence before Asahi made a small comment, “Your bread is sweet,” he smiled and took the last bite of his sandwich, “Do you bake a lot?” 

“Yeah,” Aone said gently, “I can’t cook like you though. This is delicious,” He said, nudging the noodles.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Asahi said, “What if I bring us lunch every day and you’ll do dessert?”

“If that means I get to eat stuff like this, definitely,” Aone said boldly before he started blushing, “Well… If that’s what you want…”

“Yeah! It sounds fun,” Asahi smiled, “Is there anything you’re allergic to or don’t like?”

“I’m not very picky, but I don’t like tomatoes, and I’m allergic to bananas,” Aone said, “What about you?”

“Uh, Well I’m a pescetarian,” Asahi shrugged, “I only eat fish, but you bake, so I am allergic to peaches,” 

“Okay,” Aone said, finishing up his last bite before grabbing a notebook from his bag, scribbling something down, ‘0x.xxxx.xxxx Aone Takanobu’, “We should talk more. You’re nice to talk to Asahi,”

“Y...You too Aone!” Asahi said, looking at the paper.

“You can call me Takanobu, or a variation of that,” Aone threw his trash away and Asahi followed. 

“Does Taka work?” Asahi asked and pushed the chair back into the small table.

Aone nodded, “Perfectly,” 

Asahi smiled and walked out of the backroom with Aone. Daichi waved to the two, “Hey! The woman finally left after Suga talked to her,” He chuckled distantly, “Man, they could be scary when they need to be, anyway! If you need the rest of the day off, you can take it Aone,”

“I feel better now, thank you,” Aone said and walked back to the snakes, Asahi smiled at Daichi, his cheeks still red.

“What happened in there?” Daichi smirked and leaned back against the wall.

“Nothing!” Asahi blushed deeper and walked quickly to finish what he was doing for the dogs.

“Why are you so red?” Suga asked and looked Asahi up and down. 

“I’m not,” He said and picked a Shiba up, placing her on her feet. Asahi attached a leash to all the dogs before wrapping the smaller dogs’ leashes in his fist and the bigger dogs’ leashes on his midsection.

“You totally are,” Suga teased and leaned down to pet the dogs before Asahi could leave with them on a daily walk, “Let me guess, you finally grew a pair to talk to Aone more than the half conversations you’ve been having lately?”

Asahi’s eyes widened and he coughed, “He… He gave me his number,” 

Suga sprung up and smiled brightly, “Really! He never does anything like that for the past three years he’s been here,” They said, “He likes you a lot and telling by that blush, you like him back. Imma plan your dates and wedding,” Suga rambled and stepped over the dogs.

“Suga! There’s no need to react like this,” Asahi fumbled over his words, “We’re just friends,”

“For now~”

“For now- wait… no. We’re just friends!” Asahi’s cheeks darkened and he walked out of the backdoor. He let out a breath he didn’t know he’s been holding. He walked to the dog park with the leashes of the bigger dogs pulling on his midsection and the smaller ones barking at anything and everything passing by. He managed to get to the dog park easily, compared to some days, while taking the leashes off he heard soft barks from behind a tree. Asahi let the dogs go play before walking behind the tree and spotted at a small box labeled ‘FREE’ 

Asahi picked the box up and walked back over to the bench. He took the lid off and gasped at the four puppies in the box, “Oh no…” He put the box down and went to collect all of the shop’s dogs. He put the leashes back, securing them to himself, before picking up the box and jogging back to the shop. He let himself into the back door and shut the door, “Sugawara!” He called out quickly.

Noya came over to Asahi, “What’s up?” 

“Put them up please,” He said and handed Noya the smaller dogs’ leashes, then stepped out of the bigger dogs’ leash before handing it to Tanaka.

“Suga!?” Asahi said, walking into the grooming room, “I found some puppies. They’re in really bad shape,” He placed the box down and Suga took the lid off, “They’re under a month old. I don’t know when they ate last,” Asahi said and quickly reached into the minifridge that held milk replacement for the puppies.

“We need to wash them first. Their eyes are shut and their mouths… I don’t know. Run the sink and clean them gently. I’ll get Daichi,” They said and placed the puppy back into the box gently.

Asahi stepped forward and picked up a black puppy, running him under the warm water from the faucet. He grabbed a cup to rinse their face gently before looking through their fur for ticks or any irritations. When he finished the first bath, he wrapped the puppy gently in a towel and placed them down. 

Suga came back into the room when Asahi was in the middle of washing the second puppy, “He’ll be back with the vet for their vaccines and wellness check. How are they looking?”

“Can you check on that gray one? They haven’t moved since I brought the box in here,” Asahi said, using tweezers to pull the tiny bugs off of the brown puppy in his hand. 

Asahi watched as Suga picked up the gray puppy and his face fell, “I don’t think-”

“Try,” He said sternly and looked down at the puppy in Suga’s hand.

Suga placed the puppy on the table and felt for a pulse, “He’s barely here, Azumane,”

“Just try,” Asahi repeated and wrapped the brown puppy up, before placing him next to the black one. He picked up another puppy that was black with brown spots and ran it under the water. He ran his thumb over her eyes softly, trailing over her nose and then her ears. He looked through her fur and sighed in relief when there were no ticks, “How is he?” Asahi asked and placed the girl down.

“He’s cold. I cleaned him up though. Can you fill one of the syringes up with the milk?” They said and wrapped the puppy in a small green blanket.  
Asahi nodded and filled the needleless syringe up with the milk replacement and handed it to Suga. They slowly pushed the white liquid into the puppy’s mouth, the gray dog lapping it up eagerly, “One more,” Suga said and handed Asahi the syringe. Asahi filled it and handed it back to Suga, “Thank you,” They said and handed the syringe back to Asahi, “Give them two doses. I need to ask Aone for a heat lamp for them,” 

They walked out, cradling the small puppy with the small blanket. Asahi picked up the puppies, and one at a time fed them two doses of the milk before placing them down again. 

Suga came in with Aone trailing behind him and pointed to the desk, “Plug it in there and tell me what’s safest, please,” They asked.

“Since they’re small they’ll overheat quickly. I’ll put the lamp as high as it can go so they’ll be safe whilst also getting warm,” Aone plugged the lamp in and moved the tray carrying the puppies under it, “Asahi, can you wet a towel?” He said low, and Asahi nodded, drenching a towel.

Suga placed the last dog under the lamp gently and Asahi slipped the ringed-out towel over the pups.

“After ten minutes, take them out,” He said and positioned the lamp.

“Thank you, Taka,” Asahi sighed in relief as Daichi and a vet came into the room.

Later that day, the vet told the group that the puppies will be fine, and Asahi was lucky that he found them today or the gray one would’ve surely died. The vet also informed them that the puppies couldn’t stay the night alone here until they were strong enough to walk on their own. Asahi was the first to speak up about taking them home, which everyone agreed will be the best option. The rest of their hectic workday went by quickly and before Asahi knew it, he was in bed ready to call it a night. He looked at his ceiling and recalled the day,

A woman causing a scene.

Lunch with Taka.

Taka gave him his number.

Taka allowed Asahi to call him Taka.

He found puppies.

He saved puppies.

He took four puppies home.

He found a 2,000 yen bill tucked into the seat on the train.

What the fuck.

Asahi rolled over and rested his head on the pillow, unable to sleep. He tried to close his eyes but his phone vibrating caused him to sit up. He looked down at his phone and felt a silly smile coming to his face from a text from Aone.

‘Hi, Asahi. I’m fine with veggie wontons and soup. Do you like cherries? I’m making small cherry hand pies.’

Asahi smiled at his phone and typed back, ‘Cherries aret perfect. I can’t wait to try them!’ He glanced it over and noticed his typo and started to delete the last part before he accidentally pressed send, the message reading, “Cherries aret perfect, I can’t”

“Oh…” Aone sent back almost instantly which caused Asahi to panic, “I can run to the store for blueberries if that works better?”

“Typo!” Asahi sent immediately, “I’m sorry, I meant to say “Cherries are perfect, I can’t wait to try them”’ ‘Sorry’ Asahi rested his head onto his comforter and groaned to himself, “Good fuck…” 

‘It’s okay. I was wondering why aren’t was spelled wrong,’ ‘I’ll bring the cherry pies tomorrow, I hope you will like them. :)’

“He’s so cute,” Asahi mumbled to himself and sent a message back. ‘I’m sure I will :-)’

‘I like the nose you added. :---)’ ‘This one has a big nose’

Asahi laughed at Aone’s response, and for the first time in a long while, he was falling hard and quick for someone.

Asahi walked into the backroom, grabbing a large bag of kibble before turning around, gasping at Aone standing right beside him, “Taka! You scared me,” Asahi laughed softly and adjusted the way he held the bag of food, “You okay?”

“Your lunch is coming up soon… can we talk then?” Aone asked.

“Oh yeah, sure! Are you okay?” Asahi repeated and walked out of the backroom, Aone following.

“Mmhm,” He hummed and followed Asahi around.

“Let me change the last three bowls of food, then we can talk,” Asahi smiled at Aone and opened the bag with his hands.

“You’re strong Asahi!” Suga called from their spot on the floor with the beagel, “How much can you bench?”

“Uh… not much,” Asahi laughed and filled the dogs’ food bowls.

“Give me a number,” Suga asked, standing up, holding the beagle to his chest.

“Maybe 300…? 280?” Asahi shrugged and closed the cage, “It’s been a minute since I took time to myself and worked out,”

“How about you?” Suga asked and looked at Aone, who was eyeing Asahi.

“310,” He answered quickly and watched as Asahi dusted his hands off.

“Okay,” He said and turned to Aone, “Let’s go,” 

The pair walked to the breakroom, Asahi waving to Daichi’s daughter as they passed by her. Aone sat down and pulled a container out for himself and another for Asahi, Asahi following, “I made pecan glazed shrimp with noodles and just white rice on the side,” He smiled proudly and opened his container, showing the glazed noodles, topped with shrimp and broken down pecans.

“I made pecan cookies,” Aone said shyly, “How ironic,”

Asahi laughed and took a cookie out of the container, “They’re bear-shaped,” He smiled at the small cookie, “Thank you,”

Aone nodded before playing with his chopsticks slightly, “Asahi?”

Asahi looked up at Aone and his smile returned, “Hm?”

“Go out with me,” Aone said bluntly and looked down at his container of glistening food. 

Asahi started to cough on a pecan, hitting his chest, “W...What!?”

“Go out with me. To dinner… please?” Aone looked up at Asahi, nervously.

“Like a date?” Asahi asked and sunk into his chair as Aone nodded, “Are you sure you want to ask me out? I’m not very entertaining-”

“You’re perfect,” Aone said and rested his hand on top of Asahi’s balled one.

After a second, Asahi nodded gently, “Yeah… Yes. I’ll go to dinner with you,” He laughed softly and covered his face.

Aone let a small smile crack as he moved closer to Asahi, “Thank you,”

Asahi nodded before he let another set of chuckles out, “I’m sorry. I’m really happy,” He said and leaned over to hug Aone. “Do you have a day set or do we need to plan?”

“Does Saturday work for you?” Aone asked and played with the end of his green shirt.

“Uh, no actually. I have to babysit my niece and nephews then. I’m free on Sunday though,” 

“That works for me,” Aone said and looked down at his phone, “I’ll pick you up at 5,” 

“You need my address to come by,” Asahi picked up his phone and sent his address to Aone, looking up when Aone’s phone pinged.

“Wait… this is only two blocks away from my apartment,” Aone pointed out, “Would you like to go home together?”

“Yeah,” Asahi smiled again, “Hurry and eat, lunch is almost up,” 

Aone nodded and took a bite from the glazed shrimp, his eyes widening, “This is the best thing you’ve made thus far,” 

“Really?” He laughed, “I make it often. It’s really healthy for you even though it tastes like a sweet treat. I just use the natural sweetness of the pecans to glaze everything. Then a dash of honey. When you let it sit for a bit then it gets a good crunch like that, which it sat longer than I usually let it sit because I made it last night. I know my brother and niece don’t like the pecan chunks in there so I tried to make it smaller than I normally do. Am I rambling? I’m totally rambling,” Asahi groaned and covered his face.

“I like hearing you talk,” Aone said, “I don’t mind. Thank you for cooking this. I think it’s perfect. Can you make it again?”

Asahi nodded, “Of course. I’ll make it again next week,”

Aone’s eyes drifted to the clock and he sighed, “Lunch is up. Sorry, we didn’t finish,”

“It’s okay! I wasn’t that hungry. You can finish up and I can cover for you,” Asahi said and closed the container, standing up.

“No, it’s okay. You said you were scared of snakes anyway,” Aone said and closed his own containers, slipping them into his bag, “I’ll wait by the back door so we can walk home together,” 

Asahi nodded, “Okay,” He opened the door, and held it open for Aone. Asahi smiled at Aone before waving and walking back to the dogs. Asahi dropped his bag and looked at Suga.

“What?” They asked and tossed the doggie toy.

“He asked me out,” Asahi mumbled and sat down on one of the chairs, an older dog jumping into his lap.

“Huh?” Suga asked and tapped their ear holding an airpod.

“Taka asked me out!” He chirped and smiled at his friend, “This Sunday he said he’ll pick me up. Today he said he’ll walk home with me,” Asahi picked the dog in his lap up.

“What! No way!” Suga laughed and put their airpods away, “Spill!”

“You know how we make each other lunch and desserts? Well, he was blunt,” Asahi blushed, “He just flatly asked me out then we made plans and talked all of our lunch. He told me how we live really close and he’ll start walking home with me.” He was so happy that he couldn’t find the right words to use right now.

“Congrats dude! I hope your date goes great!” Suga smiled, “You gotta tell me every gross lil detail,” They winked before laughing at Asahi’s face, walking out, “I’m heading home. Tooru has a surgery coming up so I’ll be gone for a couple of days. You’ll be fine right? Daichi will still be here to help out back here. Noya and Tanaka could even help with some things if Dai isn’t here,”

“Oh. I hope his surgery is well. I’ll be fine,” Asahi reassured, “Bye Suga,” He waved at them and Suga left. 

Asahi sighed and placed the dog on his lap down onto the floor. He cleaned up their cages again and then straightened the dog aisles before he sat down, bored.

“Asahi!” Daichi’s voice stood out boldly, “Hey! It’s kinda slow right now, can you take the dogs out for a walk to that dog park and take Niko with you? She’s getting restless. If kids aren’t your thing we can wait-”

“I can take her. I’m getting restless myself,” He laughed softly and grabbed all the leashes. Asahi easily put all the leashes on, tugging the large leashes over his hips, tightening them around his midsection. He got the smaller ones and wrapped them around his enclosed left fist, used to the daily occurrence of walking the group of dogs. He glanced at the sleeping puppies and sighed to himself, hoping they’d get healthy quicker so they’ll be able to walk around. 

Asahi walked out of the dog room and to the front door where Niko was waiting for him excitedly. 

“Stay close to Asahi okay? Please please please don’t wander off,” Kuroo said and kissed the young girl’s head, “Daddy and I will be right at the shop, alright?” 

She nodded before ducking away to pet a large husky behind the ear.

Daichi sighed, “See you soon honey,”

“Bye, daddy! Bye, dad!” She smiled at her dads and grabbed onto Asahi’s hand, walking out of the store with him, the dogs following behind, “Mr. Asahi?” She asked as the two were halfway down the block.

“Hm?” He answered and looked down at the small child.

“Do you have any kids? Or a wife? Or husband?” She played with the strings of the dog’s leashes.

“No, I don’t,” Asahi laughed softly, “But I do have a niece and three nephews that are around your age,”

“Can I meet them?” She asked, letting go of Asahi’s hand to hold onto the loose leash.

“Maybe one day. You have to ask your dads,” Asahi pressed the button to cross the street, “Hold my hand please,” Niko listened and the two crossed the street and wandered into the park. 

The preschooler quickly ran to the playground as Asahi strolled over to the gate leading to the dog part of the park. Asahi let go of all the leashes and watched as all the dogs ran around the empty dog park. He closed the gate to the dog park and walked back over to the playground to watch Niko run around and let all her energy out.

To be honest, Asahi loved the idea of kids in the meer future and saw himself with a child of his own. He never wanted to get anyone pregnant or have a surrogate, but the idea of adopting a kid, giving them a better life, spoiling them, all the “dad” things made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

He wondered if Aone wanted kids. 

Asahi felt himself blush at the idea of himself and Taka having a future together. They haven’t gone on any dates yet. He was getting ahead of himself. He looked at his phone before sending a quick text to Aone, reading, ‘Hi :-),’

He placed his phone down on the park bench and watched Niko for a second before glancing at all the dogs. Asahi’s lips upturned when he felt the bench vibrate from his phone. He picked up his phone and read Aone’s message.

‘Hi, where’d you go?’ ‘I saw you leave with the dogs and Niko.’

‘She wanted to play at the park and I needed to walk the dogs,’

‘I’m off of work now.’ Aone sent, ‘I’ll head over to that park now. We can walk back to the shop, then home together,’

Asahi smiled at his phone, ‘That sounds great. See you soon.’

‘:--)’ Aone sent back. 

Asahi put his phone up and looked up to check on Niko. Asahi gasped as he saw her sitting in the sand, crying. He got up and jogged over to her, kneeling, “What’s wrong?”

“He threw sand into my hair!” She cried loudly and pointed at an older boy crossing the playground bridge.

“Okay,” He said and picked her up, “It’s okay. You’re okay,” Asahi said and held her to his chest. Asahi sat on the bench and she continued holding onto his shirt,” He raked his hand through Niko’s semi-wavy hair, “I’ll get all the sand I can out, okay?”

She nodded and sniffled. Asahi ran his fingers through her hair, weaving sand out of her hair the best he could. He sighed when he looked at the sand closer to her roots that he couldn’t get out, “I got all I can out. When Aone comes here we can walk and I can buy you a slice of cake, okay?” 

She looked up at him with big watery eyes and nodded.

“Any flavor you want,” 

“Really?” She wiped her eyes gently and Asahi nodded.

“I promise,”

She smiled and wiped her eyes again, “Thank you, Uncle,”

Niko and Asahi sat together and talked about the cartoons she watched, and Asahi added his input on the very little knowledge he has from what his niece and nephews tell him. He smiled as Aone entered the park, looking around.

“Taka!” Asahi called out and stood up, placing Niko on her feet. He grabbed all the leashes in one hand and Niko reached up to hold his other.

Aone walked over to the pair and looked down at Niko, waving slightly, “Stay right here with him okay? I’ll be right back,” Asahi said and jogged over to the dog gate. He walked inside and called out the name to every dog that was his, “Come on Spencer,” He said to the golden retriever who was clearly enjoying a ramp, “You’re the last one. Just listen please,” He said and finally hooked the leash onto Spencer’s collar. Asahi let out a breath and walked out of the gate and back to Aone, who was now holding Niko up and letting her play with the ends of his hair.

“What are you two doing?” Asahi smiled, trying to control the hyped-up dogs.

“She likes my hair,” Aone said, lowering the girl.

“It’s super white. It’s pretty!” She smiled.

“It is super pretty, huh?” Asahi agreed quietly, smiling at Aone gently, “Let’s hurry and get cake before your dads kill us,”

“Cake?” Aone asked and started walking out of the park with Asahi, still holding Niko.

“Oh… yeah? I promised Niko a slice of cake from the bakery on the way back because some kid put sand in her hair and she was a good sport about it,” Asahi explained, his steps heavy as he tried to keep his ground due to the dogs pulling on him.

“I never had it,” Aone shrugged.

“The cakes there are yummy! Daddy takes me there after school sometimes with Uncle Kenma!” She said excitedly, “I like the fruity cake that has strawberries in it!”  
“I like any cake. I’m down for any flavor,” Asahi said, “Taka, do you mind going inside for me?” Asahi said and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, “Here. You can get whatever you want and buy her whatever she wants. Pick something out for me too,” 

“I’ll pay,” Aone said and opened the door to the bakery.

“Wait- Taka!” Asahi called out as the door to the bakery closed. He sighed and put his wallet back into his pocket. Asahi found a table and sat down, waiting patiently for the two to come out of the shop. The dogs all seemed to calm down, sitting and laying around and under the table. Asahi made sure to choose a table far from where others were. He waved to Aone as he walked out of the shop and Niko skipped over to Asahi.

“We chose a good cake for you, uncle!” She smiled and Aone picked her up, sitting her on the outdoor chair, “Uncle Taka! Give him his cake!” 

Aone sat down next to Asahi and took a pink box out of the bag.

“Thank you,” Asahi smiled and opened it, “What kind is this?” 

“Pistachio,” Aone answered and opened his, “If you don’t like pistachios you can have mine, it’s rose flavored,”

“Hm. I never had rose flavored anything,” He said and took some of his cake onto the fork, “Have you?”

“Rosewater. That’s one of the main ingredients in the cake. I wanted to try to make it at home,” Aone said and took a small bite from it.

“I’d love to try a rose cake you make,” Asahi smiled and looked at Niko, “How is your strawberry cake?” 

She looked up from her box, “Yummy!”

Asahi smiled at her and sighed gently, enjoying his cake. He was the first to finish his slice of cake, “This was delicious. How’d you know I love pistachios?” He laughed softly and reached forward to wipe the whipped cream off of Niko’s face with a paper towel.

“You like pecans a lot, so I thought about that. I know they don’t taste alike, I just gave it a try though,” Aone said and took his last bite of cake. 

“It was very good, thank you,” He said and stood up, causing the dogs to stand with him, “Ready to go?” Aone nodded, collecting everyone’s trash and throwing it away. He waited for Niko to stand up and picked her up when she showed no signs of moving.

“We have to take you back,” Aone said to her.

“But I don’t wanna go back yet! I like being with you and Uncle Asahi!” She whined and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Uncle Asahi and I will see you tomorrow,” Aone said and started to walk with Asahi down the street, back to the shop.

“Promise?” She asked and looked back at him.

“I promise,” They said at the same time and she seemed to calm down a bit until the next distraction came;

“Uncle Taka! Look! Balloons!” She said and pointed to a man selling balloons on the corner.

“Do you want one?” Aone asked her and walked over to the man when she nodded her head. Asahi waited for them patiently, sighing to himself. Aone was definitely going to spoil his kids if he had any. The two came back after a minute and Niko had a yellow balloon tied to her wrist.

“Is yellow your favorite color?” Asahi asked her as they continued their walk back to the shop.

“Yes! Daddy’s favorite color is orange and dad’s is red!” She and shook her wrist so the balloon would bounce, the black happy face on it bobbing back and forth.

“Mine is green,” Aone said and pointed to his green shirt.

“I like blue or gray,” Asahi thought about it as their walk was coming to an end, “We’re here!” Asahi said and opened the door to the shop.

Daichi looked up, “How was everything?” He asked and walked around the front counter, taking Niko from Aone’s arms. 

“Fun! Uncle Asahi helped me when I got sand in my hair and made me feel better! Then… Then Uncle Taka came to the park too and we went and got cake! Then I got a balloon!” She said and showed Daichi the yellow balloon.

“Oh really?” He smiled at her and she nodded happily. Daichi set her on her feet when she started wiggling in his arms and she ran down the store yelling, “Dad!!” 

“Thank you,” Daichi smiled brightly to the two men, “Let me pay you back,” He reached behind the desk for his wallet.

“It’s okay,” Aone said.

“No, here. I know the cake is kinda pricey, and those damned balloons she loves are overpriced,” Daichi said, pulling a bill out of his wallet.

“It’s okay,” Aone repeated and shook his head. Daichi sighed and put his wallet down.

“I’m going to put the dogs up for the night. I’ll be right back, Taka.” Asahi smiled at the man and walked to his section of the store, putting all the dogs up into their cages for the night, topping their food off. He changed two water bowls that had food in them, then placed them back into the cages. Asahi picked up the four puppies and placed them into the dog carrier, gently.

He picked the carrier up and said bye to the other dogs, before turning the desk light on then the main lights off. Asahi walked back to Aone and waved at Daichi, “See you tomorrow!”

The pair walked out of the front food of the store and started to walk to the train station. “Let me treat you to dinner because you got me dessert,” Asahi said quickly when he finally got the confidence.

Aone looked to Asahi, “You don’t need to,” 

“But I want to!” He smiled and took Aone’s hand into his, “Do you like ramen?”

Aone nodded and looked down at their clad hands, heat rising to his face subtlety.

“I know a great ramen shop near here,” He said and his walking slowed a bit. They walked together silently until Asahi rounded a corner and let go of Aone’s hand, “Here we are.”

“It’s small,” Aone said and opened the door for Asahi, the two being seated almost immediately.

“You can order whatever you want,” Asahi said and placed the dog carrier on the floor next to his chair. He looked down at the menu, “I usually get the shrimp one, because I don’t eat pork or chicken, but I was thinking of just getting the veggie one today,”

Aone looked down at his menu and pointed to the tonkatsu ramen, “Can I get this?”

Asahi eyed what Aone was pointing to and nodded, “Of course. Tonkotsu used to be my favorite before I became a pescetarian,” 

Aone nodded, “Why’d you become pescetarian?”

Asahi shrugged, “It was a thing I wanted to try because I thought about the little animals, but then I stuck with it because it made me feel at ease,” He said and played with the corner of the menu, “Sometimes I miss bacon, but I like just having fish as a main protein. Fish is some of my all-time favorite food, I couldn’t give that up. Some weeks I go completely vegan just to add some pizzazz,” He laughed softly and thanked a woman as she brought a complimentary tray of steamed vegetables and white rice. 

Aone grabbed his bowl and rice and clasped his hands in a quick prayer. He unfolded his hands and grabbed a piece of broccoli from the middle plate. Asahi took his share of vegetables and placed them on his rice, grabbing the spicy sauce.

Aone looked up at Asahi, thinking. 

Is this a date?

Asahi sighed happily as he walked down his street, Aone right next to him, silently, “I had fun today Taka,” Asahi smiled and turned down the walkway of his house, “I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” 

Aone nodded and played with the edge of his pant’s pocket, “Bye Asahi,”

Asahi waved before disappearing behind his front door.

Friday and Saturday rolled by quickly and by 4:45 on Sunday, Asahi was panicking. He ripped through his closet and his sister and her kids were still crashing at his house for the rest of the week. Asahi groaned and sat on the bed, looking at the message from Aone again that read, ‘Dress nice yet casual :--)’

Asahi ran around his room, shirtless, only wearing the pants he decided on. Maybe he just needed a second opinion on this. He opened the room to his room, calling out his sister’s name, who was at his door within seconds, “What’s up?”

“What do I wear?!” He exclaimed and pulled her into the room, “He said dress nicely but I don’t know how nice, nicely is!”

“Hmm,” She mumbled and looked at his options, “Gray looks nice on you,” 

Asahi pulled the gray shirt over his head and adjusted it nicely, “No, it makes me look blocky,” 

She rolled her eyes, “Maybe you’re just a blocky person,” She teased.

“Ichika!” Asahi groaned and tugged the shirt off, tossing it to the side.

“Try this green,” She said and handed him a green sweater. Asahi slipped it on and looked in his full body mirror. He picked up pants he tossed aside earlier and held them up, “It’ll look better with these pants, huh?” 

Ichika took a step back and looked at her brother, “Yeah,” She turned around as Asahi put the new pants on, straightening up the clothes on the bed, putting them back in his closet. 

Asahi looked into the mirror again, adjusting the front of his dark green sweater.

“You look great,” She smiled and adjusted the sides of Asahi’s sweater, “You should wear those brown shoes,” She said and pointed to his shoes on the rack in the closet. 

“Okay. I have to do my hair, thank you,” He sighed, appreciative of his older sister. Asahi walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, taking his hair out of the two braids, watching as the waves framed his face. Asahi sighed and ran a brush through his hair, tying the upper half up, just to keep it out of his eyes. Asahi rubbed a cleansing wipe over his face, taking his time getting ready.

Downstairs there was a knock on the door, causing Ichika to perk up. She shushed her four-year-old before getting up to answer the door, “Hello?” 

“Uh… Is Asahi…?” Aone asked, twirling the flowers in his hand.

“Oh! You’re his date?” Ichika smiled, “Come in! I’m his sister, Ichika. These are my kids,” She said waving her hand around to show the sitting toddler and the sleeping infant.

Aone walked in behind Ichika, taking his shoes off.

“You can have a seat! ‘Sahi always takes forever to put his face on,” She rolled her eyes and plopped on the couch, Aone sitting too, more gently, “What’s your name?”

“Aone Takanobu,” He said, his voice soft.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-six,”

“Okay, you’re younger than him by a year. What do you plan on doing tonight?” She asked, leaning back on Asahi’s couch.

“Um… Taking him to dinner, then to the movies, and maybe a walk if he’s up for it,” Aone said, fiddling with the flowers again.

“What type of flowers are those?”

“White and pink roses symbolize a new start and happiness,” Aone blushed and played with the stems nervously. 

“Is Asahi a fling to you?” She asked and picked her whining four-year-old up.

“No!” Aone said quickly and shook his head, “No,” 

“Good,” Ichika smiled and leaned forward to pat Aone’s back, “I can tell Asahi likes you a lot, dude,”

Aone rubbed his burning cheeks and looked up at the stairs when he heard a familiar voice, “Shit. Shit. What if he doesn’t like the way I look, Chi?” 

Asahi came all the way down the stairs, his phone and wallet in one hand and his shoes in the other. His eyes widened when he saw Aone sitting on the couch with a lounged Ichika, “Taka!” He exclaimed and blushed, “Hi. I’m sorry. Were you waiting long?” 

Aone stood up and held the flowers out, “No,” 

Asahi smiled brightly and took the flowers from Aone, “Thank you. They’re beautiful. I’ll arrange them when we come back,” He touched the delicate petals and handed them to Ichika, “Just put them in water, please. God, I hope you didn’t say anything crazy,”

“We just had a friendly conversation!” Ichika smiled and stood up, “Have fun tonight guys!” 

Asahi groaned and walked to the door with Aone, both of them slipping their shoes on, “Bye, Chi,” Asahi said and walked out of the house, locking the door behind himself.

Aone looked at Asahi and let a tiny smile lose, “You two are nothing alike,”

Asahi blushed again, “Yeah… I’m the only one who acts like this. My brothers and she are all the same,” 

Aone opened the passenger door to his car for Asahi then walked around and got in the driver's seat. Asahi nervously bounced his leg the whole car ride, calming down when they pulled into a parking lot, not too far out of their neighborhood.

“I know you like seafood,” Aone said softly, “Is this okay?”

Asahi nodded quickly, “I’m sure everything you do is okay! I’m already super happy with just this car ride,” 

Aone blushed softly and got out of the car, walking over to open Asahi’s door before Asahi could himself. The pair walked into the semi-fancy restaurant and Asahi looked around, smiling softly to the hostess as Aone pointed to his name on the reservation sheet.

“Your table is back this way,” The hostess said and grabbed two menus, walking to an enclosed area of the restaurant that had live music and only a few tables. She set the two menus down on opposite sides of the table, “Enjoy!”

Asahi sat down with Aone and his smile widened when he glanced at the band playing, “They sound great,” 

“Yeah. I hope you like it here,”  
Throughout their night at dinner, the pair had talked about things they liked, things they dreamed of, things they wanted. Aone even laughed here and there at somethings Asahi said or did.

After their completely stuffing meal, Asahi put his card on the table, “I’ll pay this time, okay?”

Aone, who was slightly tipsy off of his long island, just nodded, “I want to take you somewhere else too,” 

“Oh?” Asahi smiled at Aone, taking another sip from his beer, “Where?” 

“It’s a surprise,” Aone said and drowned a cup of water to subside the tipsy feeling.

“Okay,” Asahi laughed and stood up from the table, waiting for Aone to follow, “Can you drive?”

“Yeah. I’m not drunk,” Aone said and stood up too, walking outside with Asahi. The two made their way to Aone’s car, getting in together.

“Ready?” Aone asked when Asahi buckled his seatbelt, earning himself a nod. Aone drove over to where the drive-in movie was and pulled into a parking space. 

“Taka?” Asahi looked at the gigantic screen they were in front of, “I’ve never been to one of these,” 

“Me either,” Aone said and turned to reach into the backseat, “I baked these earlier,” He pulled out a bag of raspberry cookies.

“Oh! It’s those swirls you made a while back,” Asahi smiled and thanked Aone, “Oh wait! I’ll go buy some popcorn! Would you like any candy?” 

“No. Here,” Aone said and handed him his wallet, “Get whatever you want. Can I have a lemonade actually?”

Asahi nodded and grabbed Aone’s wallet, walking up to the snack stand. He got the bucket of popcorn and Aone’s lemonade. Asahi also got a strawberry lemonade for himself. He paid out of his own wallet before walking back to the car. He got in and saw Aone tuning the radio so they’ll hear the movie, “Hey,” He smiled and rested the popcorn on his lap, placing the two cups in the cupholders.

“Thank you,” Aone said when Asahi handed him his wallet. He opened it and tilted his head, “You didn’t use any cash? Did you use my card?”

“Oh… no,” Asahi popped more popcorn into his mouth, “I bought it. You paid for our tickets,”

“You paid for dinner,” Aone argued, pulling money out of his wallet to hand to Asahi. 

Asahi rested his hand on top of Aone’s, “Taka, it’s okay. I wanted to pay for us,” 

Aone looked down at their hands and sighed, nodding. He slipped the cash back into his wallet and rested back against his seat, taking some popcorn for himself.

“Oh! It’s starting!” Asahi smiled and looked at the screen.

Aone looked at the screen and then back to Asahi. He eyed Asahi, amazed. The soft lights cast down on his face, highlighting all his features. His stubble on his chin, a faint scar on his eyebrow, the slight crook in his nose. Asahi’s shoulder-length hair was becoming loose in his hair tie, starting to frame his face perfectly. His chocolate brown curls looked perfect to run a set of hands through. 

Aone felt he had no right to be here on a date with someone as perfect as Asahi. Someone with a laugh thicker than honey. Someone who was selfless and caring of others, including the multiple animals he works with. Someone who was so beautiful.

Asahi turned his head to look over at Aone and smiled, “You okay?”

“Asahi…?” Aone mumbled and played with his finger, “Can I kiss you?”

Asahi’s eyes widened slightly, “Uh… Uh… Yeah,” 

Aone moved over in his seat leaning over the middle console before Asahi placed his hand on Aone’s shoulder, “Wait. I’m not a good kisser,”

“That’s okay,” Aone shrugged, causing Asahi to visibly relax.

“Okay…” Asahi smiled gently and closed his eyes. Aone studied Asahi’s face, cupping his cheek gently, leaning forward, and pressing his lips to the slightly shorter man.

Asahi raised his hands to gently hold Aone’s cheeks, kissing back. Aone was the first to pull away, “Wow,”

“Wow?” Asahi repeated and laughed, “Wow,” He confirmed.

“Asahi?” 

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss you again?” 

Asahi looked away from the movie screen again and smiled, “Yeah,”

Aone kissed Asahi again. Then again. Again. Again. Once more. Oh? Again.

Before they knew it the movie was rolling the credits. Asahi’s lips were slightly swollen by the time Aone turned the car back on, “I wanted to go on a walk but it’s too dark now, I’m sorry,”

“No! Don’t even worry!” Asahi smiled gently and rested his hand on Aone’s that was off the wheel, “How about we go on a walk through the orchard tomorrow after work?” 

“Oh,” Aone said, “That works for me,”

“Good,” Asahi rested against the seat.

The rest of the drive was in comfortable silence, music that Asahi chose played in the background quietly. Before he knew it, Asahi was in front of his house again, concluding the night. When he got out, Aone followed suit. He grabbed Asahi’s hand and pulled him close to him, “Can-”

“You don’t have to ask,” Asahi kissed Aone gently, holding him close.

“Can I take you on another date? Next weekend?” Aone asked.

Asahi nodded, “Of course,”

“Bye Asahi,” Aone mumbled and waved slightly.

“Good night, Takanobu. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Aone nodded and watched as Asahi walked back into his house.

Tomorrow. He couldn’t wait.


End file.
